we are travelling as a group of 3 to the following places by train.
vienna to salzburg
salzburg to rothenburg
rothenburg to frankfurt via wurzburg.
is it better to get a austria germany railpass or can we do it with bayern tickets .are all the cities above covered under the bayern ticket?pls advice

Vienna-Salzburg: No. All your travel is in Austria. The fare is 44.20€.

Salzburg-Rothenburg: Yes.

Rothenburg-Frankfurt: Part of your route is in Bavaria and part is in Hesse. You would need both a Bayern ticket and a Hesse ticket.

Railpasses would NOT be cost effective.

Tim's right, the Bayern-Ticket is valid only for regional trains in Bavaria (or from Bavaria into Salzburg, which is considered a border station).

Actually, for Rothenburg to Frankfurt you do not need a €30 Hessen-Ticket for the part in Hessen. You can purchase point-point tickets from Kahl am Main (the last stop in Bavaria) to Frankfurt for €6,75 each. You should be able to get them from the counter in Rothenburg, but certainly in Kahl.

I believe that Austria has the Einfach-Raus-Ticket, which is equivalent to the Bayern-Ticket, except the regional trains on which it is valid are a slow way to Vienna.

One more option: If you're going from Rothenburg to Frankfurt on either a Saturday or a Sunday, buy a Happy Weekend Ticket for €35. It's good for one day anywhere in Germany for up to five people. As with the Laender tickets (Bayern, etc.), you are limited to regional trains.

thanks for the info.so i should get point to point on IC from vienna to salzburg-bayern from salzburg to rothenburg-and since i am travelling on a weekday from rothenburg to frankfurt i will follow larrys advice -bayern and then point to point from kahn.
can i get ure help also on flying in from frankfurt to vienna as i am not able to locate any low cost deals.i am landing in frankfurt at 6 a.m on the 31st of may from boston and want to take a connection to vienna.

The one-way fare on Austrian Airlines is horrendous. However, you can get a same day roundtrip ticket for a very reasonable price if you book now. Just throw away the unused portion.

Even cheaper would be a special fare on the direct train from the airport to Vienna, but it's a seven-hour ride.

Kalpana,
the Bayern-Ticket (see www.bayern-takt.de) is valid for all >regional< trains throughout Bavaria, but ICs are not regional trains! YOU CANNOT USE A BAYERN-TICKET ON AN IC, OR ON AN ICE, EC, OR IR.

And the name of the last stop in Bavaria is KAHL (Kahl am Main, actually). On the Bahn website, use "Kahl(Main)".